Don't feel like training?

The end of the season is soon here and after 10 months of training, motivation and desire is minimal. Why keep training; is it even important?

Think of it this way, you have spent many months developing your Chronic Training Load (CTL) only to watch it decline during your competition phases of training. By mid season, CTL must be revisited so fitness can last until the end of your competitive season. But remember, as your CTL increases, it must decrease. The trick is to monitor it so that it does not fully erode back to where you started at the beginning of your training last year. By training through Sept and the beginning of Oct, Nov and Dec can be relatively low training months so that you can enjoy a relaxing holiday season.

But what type training is appropriate?

Are You Coachable?

Todd A. Roberts, USAC & USAT Certified Coach

Engaging a professional coach to train you is a commitment to a significant personal/professional relationship. Like all important relationships, the more time and energy each of you invest, the more each is willing to see the other’s point of view and work toward shared goals, the better it’s likely to be. The coach/athlete relationship also works like most others in that progress is less likely to be in a straight, uninterrupted line than an undulating series of advances and retreats in which the gains must outweigh the losses for those involved to be satisfied.

While the coach and athlete are in partnership, and they have equal responsibility for communicating, they play different roles. The coach is in charge of designing the training, monitoring performance, responding with appropriate adjustments, and supporting the athlete. The athlete is responsible for making time to train, following the protocol, and exerting his or her best effort.

In the first year of training, the coach may have to build a new record of the individual athlete’s performance. This makes it difficult to predict outcomes. There are some likely trends, but each athlete is physiologically unique and responds to training in his or her own way. Ideally—and in most cases—the overall trend line moves upward. If, however, the trend line fails to improve, the coach will want to make a comprehensive examination of factors outside the training that may influence progress, such as other activities that compete for the body’s ability to recover, nutrition, rest, and the priority of training among the athlete’s commitments.

Training programs are developed sequentially based on fitness testing and on data. During certain times of the training year, such as the aerobic base development phase, the athlete’s performance is linear due to the slow progressive nature of the work. However linear growth and performance may diverge soon after anaerobic activity starts as the nature of the athlete’s unique physiology responds to the increase in training intensity. That’s when undulations in performance show up.

Most people want to see a straight line toward their performance goals, but undulations are the norm; they reflect the way the body improves. Training programs consist of several “build” periods with increased intensity or duration—or both—and scheduled rest periods that may range from “active recovery” to full rest. (Full rest periods are beneficial only a few times during the training year.) The surprise for many athletes is that during “build” periods, when greatest stress is placed on the body, performance temporarily goes down. After “active recovery” or rest, however, performance usually exceeds prior levels, making for an overall upward trend line.

The most effective training incorporates a series of working sessions that alternate with scheduled rest. As the athlete improves, training intensity and duration can grow, which leads to greater strength and endurance. Depending on the time of the training year and the athlete’s goals, workout intensity may be high or low. Those variations, balanced by rest, are essential. The keys to monitoring success are following the program and interpreting the data carefully over time.

Ask Yourself These Questions

Here are some issues to contemplate when you consider engaging a professional coach.

Motivation

• What are my personal fitness goals?
• Am I invested in improving my fitness enough to explore new ways of training?

Commitment

• Am I prepared to enter into a relationship with a partner dedicated to supporting my fitness goals?
• Am I ready to commit to a training program that requires consistent, reasonable, challenging amounts of effort?
• Is my personal schedule one that can accommodate a regular training program?

Trust

• How likely am I to learn to trust someone whose means of achieving fitness goals may differ from those I’m accustomed to?
• Am I willing to let the data I provide my coach be the baseline for modifications to my training program?

Understanding

• How does my athletic performance fit into my other life activities?
• Am I prepared for the reality that my athletic growth is likely to be non-linear in its progression?

Expectations

• Do I set reasonable expectations for myself—about fitness and in general?
• Am I prepared to set reasonable expectations of my relationship with a coach, understanding that I’m part of the success equation?

Successful relationships are based on shared interest and clear expectations. Give yourself straight answers to the toughest questions you come up with about what you’re looking for in a coaching partnership. Interview more than one coach; tell them what they need to know about you, and ask them everything you want to know about them. Check references. Make sure you feel good about the personality fit.

Once you start working with a coach, pay attention to the quality of your relationship as well as to accomplishing your training goals. You’re there to learn, which means you need to keep an open mind. The coach is there to support you, which means that he or she should be attentive, thoughtful, encouraging, and firm enough to get you past the barriers you can’t hurdle on your own.

Nothing makes a coach happier than hearing, “I did it! I succeeded!” Behind the scenes, that means “we succeeded,” but a wise coach will tell you that in the end only you could do it.

How to replenish your aerobic base

After taking a number of days rest during the transition period and when your CTL (chronic training load)...as those of you that use power when training...has dropped below (about halfway down during your first aerobic base period) go back to training and creating a better efficiency in your Endurance and Tempo training zones. That means temporarily staying away from group rides, training races and take a week or two or three away from competing on the weekend. This sacrifice will produce an even higher level of performance in July, Aug and Sept!

Tired or unfocused?

Several of my athletes have started to feel "tired" and their performance during the week is lacking their enthusiasm. Why and what to do? Think back to when you started training....Nov 2007....that was 6 whole months ago. That is a long time to stay focused and work extremely hard. Especially since anaerobic workouts (which are mentally and physically draining) have been in practice now for 1-2 months. A trained athlete cannot keep up this momentum...even the strongest ones that can handle a large workload. Time to fully rest and then transition to the next part of your season. Rest doesn't mean working on the house or staying up late partying. Be lazy. Sleep in on Saturday and Sunday. When was the last time you took a nap on the weekend? This is a great investment into the second part of your season and even higher peak fitness than the first part.

Training in the Heat of Summer

After you have reached your first peak with minimal time spent in hot humid summer afternoons, reality finally sets in. The temperatures reach the mid 90’s and a thunderstorm occurs every afternoon just as you get ready to train outside. When you do get a dry day, it is brutally hot and you can hardly breathe let alone perform. This situation is frustrating if not down right uncomfortable and at worst case, dangerous. Things you already know: stay hydrated while training outside, use water on your head to help keep you cool, and if the air quality is poor, you do more harm than good when training outside. Heat exhaustion and stroke can occur easily and may result in a trip to the hospital or ultimately, death.

In order to keep the quality of your training and your performances high, think safety first and your fitness will follow. There may not be many options for you but consider the following. Good to bed earlier with the expectation that you will rise in the morning earlier. The air temperature is cooler and humidity is lower during the early morning hours. In addition, consider performing your training inside where the air conditioning and fans are blasting cold air. Hopefully this option will not give you flashbacks from dreary January snow days. Although it will be necessary to perform some training outside so that you are acclimated to humid weather, you can choose which days have better air quality to minimize the adverse affect of adverse weather.

Most training weeks consist of (2) rest/recovery days, (3) interval days and (2) endurance days. Your rest/recovery days should be performed inside, regardless of the weather, because the intensity can be easily controlled. More times than not, interval days are shorter rather than longer. In addition, if your interval training is performed inside as well. You will find that you may prefer indoor interval training since your environment can be controlled. That leaves only your (2) endurance days, which tend to be longer in duration, for training venue. If the weather is manageable, consider performing your endurance training on a relatively short loop with frequent water stops and the option to always cut the training short should things become unmanageable.

Placing consideration on your training venue can greatly enhance the quality of your training rather than limit your fitness. Training inside or training in the early morning are great options for those living in areas with hot humid weather than can be unsafe for your health. Remember when training is hot humid weather, water is not enough to hydrate and replace critical nutrients that are lost while perspiring!